hurlbut



No. 6l3,999. Patented Nov. 8, I898.

D. N. HURLBUT.

GA S WATER HEATER.

(Application filed Apr. 8, 1897.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES: INVENTOR I ATTORNE mus wzrzns 00.. mom-ummmsmuuwu u c UNITED STATES.

PATENT 61 nch.

DANIEL N. HURLBUT, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

eAs WATER-HEATER.

srncrricnrron formingpart of Letters Patent No. 613,999, dated November s, 1898. Application filed April 8, 1897- Serial No. 631,270. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL N. HURLBUT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas Water-Heaters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in water-heaters adapted to the heating of water quickly by the use of gas.

In carrying out my invention I make use of duplicate cylinders, one within the other, between which cylinders the water to be heated passes up under suitable pressure, the same water after it has reached the top of the inner cylinder passing down through the said cylinder and out at a suitable outlet-tube to the point where it is to be used. In the course of its passage over the circuit'described I intercept the flow of the water by interposing diaphragms within the inner cylinder, the said diaphragms having openings on alternately-opposite sides, whereby it is accomplished that the water in passing over the circuit is formed into thin layers one above the other, and so heated with great rapidity.

So far as the foregoing features are concerncd, broadly considered, I make no claim to novelty of invention in this application.

The particular features which I desire to claim are the diaphragms themselves, the structure which I employ to enable the said diaphragms to be put in place without difficulty, the special structure of the lower part or chimney which I use, and its mode of attachment to the double cylinder, together with thecombination of these various parts, as will appear later on. I

My invention will be clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of my heating apparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar section of the chimney detached. Fig. 3 is a perspective and a central section of one of the upper diaphragms which I employ. Fig. 4 is a perspective and cross-section of the lowermost diaphragm, and Fig. 5 is a detailed view.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A is the outer cylinder of my heater, B the inner cylinder thereof, and O the chimney at the bottom thereof. Hitherto it has been a matter of difficulty to make a satisfactory union of these three parts. I accomplish this in the following manner: The chimney, which is represented in a separate View in Fig. 2, is simply struck up by suitable dies into the form illustrated by the straight lines in the said figurethat is to say, when the said chimney is first struck up the rounded part 0 does not appear in that form. On the other hand,the real form of the outer and lower part of the said chimney is illustrated by the dotted lines o c. -Afterward the wire d is put in place and the lower end of the chimney is bent up around the said wire, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. This is a well-known mode of finishing the ends of tin vessels.

Now by forming the chimney in the manner described and by leaving the lower end of it in the shape illustrated in Fig. 2 I make it easily possible to connect the said chimney with the cylinders A and B, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1. Here it is to be noted that the outer cylinder rests just inside the bent portion surrounding the wire d, to which bent portion the said outer cylinder can be readily joined by solder. Likewise the inner cylinder B is readily soldered to the vertical wall of the chimney, around which it makes a close fit.

In the lower part of Fig. 1 appears'a stand E, carrying a suitable gas-burner apparatus F, the same being suppliedby the gas-tube G. I provide an igniting-tube H, the function of which is readily understood.

At f f f f are the openings through which the gas passes, to be lighted by the'fl'ame from the igniting-tube H.

At I is shown the inlet-tube for the water to be heated, and at J is the outlet-tube for the same, the latter being considerably larger than the former, so as to permit the free exit of the water at all times. The small tube K serves as a passage for the flame from the igniting-tube H, while the tubes J and K serve the further purpose of preserving the proper relation between the two cylinders A and B at the bottom before the soldering takes place. At the top I provide little brace-rods L L for keeping the cylinders positioned at that point.

The outer cylinder is an ordinarystraight cylinder. Theinner cylinder in my construction is irregular in shape and for the following reasons: It has been found difficult to place the diaphragms in position in apparatus of this sort when the ledges on which they are supported are simply constituted by the lower curve of grooves made in the sides of an ordinary straight cylinder. In fact it has been found almost impossible to put the diaphragms in place without destroying their flatness, which is one of the features that should obviously be preserved. I accordingly construct the inner cylinder of such a shape that when completed it appears to be made up of a series of tapering sections one above the other. The grooves which are made in the said cylinder are in a straight line one above the otherthat is to say, the outer edges of the said grooves are in a vertical line-but above each groove the cylinder slants inward for a certain distance, as far, in fact, as the base of the next groove, as will appear from an inspection of the drawings, Fig. 1. In this figure the grooves are shown at 0 0 o 0 and the diaphragms at O O O O. The shape of the inner cylinder will be readily seen to be as described, while an inspection of Fig. 5 will still further aid in understanding the structure.

Looking at the upper diaphragm O in Fig. 1 it will be seen that it can be put in place without serious diiflculty, and yet it may fill the space at the grooves in which it is to lie fully enough to be well seated and to be free from liability to drop out in case the heater should be upset. The other diaphragms are shown in place with their openings P P P P alternately on opposite sides of the cylinder. The shape and general structure of the upper diaphragms are illustrated in Fig. 3. It will be seen that the edge of each diaphragm is bent up. This is done for two reasons. First, to prevent the water from tending to flow out over the outer edge,- and, secondly, to increase the strength of the diaphragms. Each opening 0 is also bounded at the side next to the nearest edge of the diaphragm by a bent-up wall, which serves the same purposes. At the inner edge of each opening is a series of teeth 19121919, which are cut down part way to the body of the diaphragm, but which leave enough of the metal in the notches, so that before flowing out the water will have to form a thin layer upon the flat surface of the diaphragm, where it can be readily heated. It will be understood that the notches are lower than the tops of the curled-up edges or rim and also lower than the flanges or bent-up walls which bound the openings 0 0 on the side nearest the edge of the diaphragm.

The lowermost diaphragm is constructed difierently from those above it, in the respects which are illustrated in Fig. 4. The wall of teeth is supplanted by a solid wall t, which extends part way across the inner edge of the opening, and which may be a separate piece of metal secured upon the diaphragm in any suitable way. At either end of the said wall and below the face of the diaphragm are guides t t, which are preferably separate pieces secured to the lower side of the diaphragm. They project forward, as shown, in the direction of the outlet-pipe J and serve to prevent the water in passing from the lowermost diaphragm from falling into the top of the chimney and putting out the gas.

The heavy arrows show the course of the water and the light arrows the course of the heat as it passes up through the openings in the various diaphragms. It will be noted that the water, when its flow is properly regulated, will pass in at the inlet-pipe and up through the opening between the two cylinders, whence it will run over the top of the inner cylinder, and, passing from diaphragm to diaphragm, will form layers of water upon the separate diaphragms, the thickness of the layers being regulated by the height of the flanges or bent-up portions of the diaphragms and the height of the notches between the teeth 25 i 25 i. These thin layers of water are there exposed to the currents of heat flowing upward in the reverse direction to the flow of the water. By means of the structure here illustrated I am able to heat water sufficiently for bath-room or kitchen use in from one to four minutes in actual practice. Moreover, it will be seen that the connection between the chimney and the cylinders is very easily accomplished, while the chimney itself is of simple construction. It will be further seen that the diaphragms are strong and well suited to their purpose, while they can be put in place without any difficulty.

It is not necessary that the joint between the diaphragms and chimney be water-tight, and the opening made in the diaphragms and the naturally springy nature of the metal of which they are composed allow of their being sprung up temporarily in order to get them into place. The bending required is very slight, and the resiliency of the diaphragms brings them back into shape and does not allow them to take a permanent set.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a gas water-heater, a pair of cylinders, one within the other, and a chimney on which the said cylinders are supported, and to which they are attached, the said chimney having a vertical wall around which the inner cylinder fits, and also having an extension at the bottom, which is bent or curled at its extremities so that the bent or curled portion surrounds the lower edge of the outer cylinder, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a gas water-heater, a series of diaphragms, each of which is made of a flat piece of metal, turned up at its rim, and having an opening bounded by a turned-up rim on its with grooves for holding the same, the said cylinder being constructed in a series of taper- 15 ing stories, the grooves being located between the successive stories asand for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in the presence of two Witnesses, this 20 6th day of April, A. D. 1897.

DANIEL N. HURLBUT.

Witnesses:

G. H. STOCKBRIDGE, H. B. RICHARDSON. 

